1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for ejecting droplets.
2. Description of the Related Art
The apparatus for ejecting droplets is used in various technical fields. For example, an ink jet printer uses a printing head that ejects ink droplets toward a printing sheet. There is known a machine for forming a printed circuit board by ejecting droplets made of conductive material towards an insulating board. There is also known a machine for coating an adhesive layer by ejecting droplets made of adhesive material towards an object to be adhered. A machine for fabricating a three dimensional model by ejecting molten resin droplets towards the three dimensional model under construction is also known. These machines commonly use the apparatus for ejecting droplets.
An apparatus for ejecting droplets in which an ejecting head and an electric circuit board are combined is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication 2003-63042. The ejecting head and the electric circuit board are connected by means of a cable, and the ejecting head and the electric circuit board are fixed to each other.
In use of the apparatus for ejecting droplets, there is a possibility that liquid droplets reach a point where the cable and the electric circuit board are connected. When the contacting point between the cable and the electric circuit board becomes wet, there is a possibility that the electric circuit will be short-circuited or that smoke will be produced. Accordingly, technology has been proposed which covers the contacting point between the cable and the electric circuit board with a liquid absorbent elastic member. When the apparatus for ejecting droplets is mounted on the machine, the liquid absorbent elastic member will be interposed between the apparatus for ejecting droplets and the machine, and the liquid absorbent elastic member reliably covers the contacting point between the cable and the electric circuit board.